Blah Blah Blah Bloggy Blah

I'm on a roll right? Hee hee hee...  (I wish it was a Swiss roll!!!)

Sonya Ann - don't you dare stop blogging - you make me laugh soooo hard - you have cornered the market on sarcastic wit and I love you for it. Even if you just blog for me that's something right? (You too, sister dear, you used to love writing!!)

And.......you never really know who all is reading - sometimes people write a comment because I've struck a nerve (thank you very very much - keep commenting!!!!!) but 99% of people "read and dash!" And that's okay - well, it better be ok because we have NO control over that.

I think sometimes I get too caught up in trying to write with perfect grammar (thank goodness I have a sister who edits my posts hahahaha) and/or a funny story with a perfect ending but that's not always "real life".  I find the posts I get the most responses on are the ones that are straight from the heart and I whip off in a couple of minutes. I need to plan less and just write. Right?

I try to have a format but it never lasts for more than a week or two. And I get sporadic and then try to make up for it with a dozen quick posts. I just need to remember that I blog for me (mostly) so if I take a week off, oh well. If the well runs dry, oh well....hell.

There, that's my little ramble for today. I hope y'all keep blogging for the love of it - believe me - if it gets too boring we'll let you know!! :)  :)

And now...CAT pictures!!! (Because we all know there's nothing better than a good cat photo! I know how to keep you coming back!!)

Can't see the cat? Look closer!

There's Luna!

She loves to hide.

Sleepy Luna

Speak to the hand!

Bliggedy Bliggedy Blog

I had such a nice moment yesterday. It was the annual "Gathering on the Green" where craft vendors gather, kids play at a number of free activities, social groups set up tables letting folks know what's going on in their communities, green thumb gardeners sell plants and so on. I was volunteering at the Council of Canadians table - the group I do activism (rallies, sit-ins etc) with when a woman came over to talk to me.

She wanted to tell me that she recognized me from reading my blog - that she had followed my retirement countdown and all the other aspects of my life over the past few years. I was so touched! She couldn't remember exactly how she had landed on my blog but she continued to follow my journey. If you're reading this today I want to say a big THANK YOU!! I'm glad you stopped to let me know - that was very thoughtful and I'm grateful to know I have a friend out there!

When something like that happens it really gives the whole "blog thing" meaning. I mean, here we sit, day after day, year after year, sending our words out into the blogosphere and not really knowing those who quietly read what we write. Many folks read without commenting but follow our stories for years. Fascinating, isn't it? I mean, I'm not exactly J.K. Rowling or Kim Kardashian (thank goodness)!!

My ride yesterday was to the Gathering on the Green and back home for about 23km I think. I'm at 111km pedalled out of my 400km goal for June. Today we've had some thunderstorms and I'll probably ride my stationary bike instead of going out. That way I can also get my laundry done :) I was up and out before 9am today to get a newspaper and some groceries and then I baked when I got home. Some days you just have to stay put and get a few things done. Very few days, thankfully!

Last night I went downtown for another annual event - Nuit Blanche! This is a fairly new event for London (4 or 5 years?) but I love it! All sorts of art projects going on in various locations throughout the downtown area - bands, jugglers, visual arts, performance arts, sleight of hand and so on. Unfortunately it did rain off and on but my friend and I got to experience a few things:

Drama, poetry, painting, dancing about WATER!

A band was playing to the left of the lights.

Pyrotechnics & music 

Not easy to get a photo of flames!

This young lady was rolling a ball all over the place -
she was very good!

Saturday Pix

Thank you Freckles :)

I thought it might be good for me if I posted shorter posts but more frequently, sort of a check in, maybe daily, maybe not. Pain levels are high today, mood is not too bad. I'm heading out shortly on my bike to go to the Gathering on the Green, an annual event where my brother will be selling his birdhouses and a friend will be making bracelets and bookmarks with neighbourhood kids. I'll get some photos and post later.

Meanwhile here are a couple of photos from the past week: a local cat visiting Luna and Lily...

A sleepy looking Lily with a little bit of pink tongue hanging out...

Uncle Fred, my mom's oldest brother...he passed away 5 weeks ago...

My gramma and her 4 children - my mom and her 3 brothers. The middle one Arthur passed away a week ago leaving only the cowboy - my Uncle Verne, who will turn 90 on August 2nd. My generation is rapidly moving towards becoming the "older" generation.

Checking in...

Hi everyone - thought I should check in cuz I miss you all!  I'm trying a new blogging position - laying on the couch with the laptop propped up against my knees. The back is still healing - I found some exercises today from a book called "Treat your own Back"; well actually is was a couple of Youtube videos that demonstrated the exercises so I'm trying them out.  I've done them twice and already feel that the pain is leaving my legs. Keeping my fingers crossed!

I'm scheduled for acupuncture next Wed. Wish I could have gotten in sooner but he wasn't in at all this week. When I missed a month of work 2 years ago due to a pinched nerve in my shoulder the only thing that helped was acupuncture so I'm eager to try it again.

The good news is (aren't you glad there's good news?) I bought a trailer at the same park we were at before. We're just a short distance from the one we previously owned, in the quiet section. (Well...it used to be quiet:) !!

Here's a few photos from last fall when I looked at it before...and I just realized I've shown you these pics before, however, that was before it belonged to me!  It'll take some work to make it mine but I'm looking forward to that. And Lake Huron is just a few minutes walk away!

Nice big living space with a slide-out section that makes it feel much roomier...

A pull-out couch, ceiling fans, TV, air conditioning... (I likely won't use either the TV or the AC)

The master bedroom has a brand new mattress, never slept on...yet!!

Something I was looking for - a second bedroom with 3 bunks and lots of storage space.

 Dining area...

 Kitchen - full size stove and fridge, built-in microwave, double sink...

Cute shed for my lawn mower, extra chairs, bike etc...

Nice big porch...

The trellis stuff was being used to build a sort of fence, I'm not sure why...they aren't high enough to cover the window of the adjacent trailer so not too sure what the idea was...

You can see one of the trellis fence pieces in the photo below...I'm not going to bother with them - I'd rather just plant some tall grasses if more privacy is needed...

And the lovely bathroom - wow - counter space!! And there is a large shower to the left which we can't see here.

So now you're updated on me...pain is dominating my life at present but I have much to look forward to when this passes!!

This too shall pass, right???

So anyways...

Hurrah! I now have what they call here "high speed internet"!! I beg to differ but it's better than what I had before which was just my cell phone. (Can't wait to see my next cell phone bill - NOT!!) Tonight it took a while before I was able to get online but eventually I did, so I should just stop being a whiner!

I've been wondering where to go next with my blog - that's the dilemma I'm currently facing. Now that I AM retired what's next? Things didn't exactly turn out the way I thought they were going to and I still don't know the answer to the Clash song's big question: "should I stay or should I go now?" I really don't know. Honest to God I change my mind about 10,000 times a day. I have had some really rough days here at Crofters Lane - I'm even wondering about changing its name to something else, but if I don't move here then why bother? I'm really overthinking things so am going to let it go for now and try not to think about it. The answers will come.

So, what I'm thinking about now is changing up my blog format, changing my direction to something like:

"Living Alone: Smash the Fear" (Sam - you were the inspiration for that one - at least your fridge is;)!!)

"The Single Life: Pros and Cons"

"The Joys and Sorrows of Life Alone"

"Finding Jane"

"After Retirement - What's Next?"

"Life after Teaching"

"Finding my Way Back"

And on it goes...I am open to suggestions...please! All that "alone" stuff isn't meant to just be morose but to explore the various challenges a woman, aged 58, retired, faces as she goes about her daily life. For instance, I am finding new ways of doing things since I don't have a strong man around. I have to be way more creative. Is that interesting? Do you have an opinion of what direction I should take? Please weigh in with your opinions - I find what you have to say immensely valuable!

In the meantime I'll be sharing photos from the last couple of weeks, and I have TONS! Hopefully you don't mind going back in time a wee bit while I catch up. I haven't done a proper post since I left Ontario 3 weeks ago.

Here's a start; I left London on June 29th, stopping in Barrie for a little jam session...

 Tammy - bass player extraordinaire!

Her talented partner Jay...

Steve and Nancy, the hosts of the evening...

And then entered a saxophone player...

and a tinkler of the ivories...

pretty magical! (Look ma, no hands!!)

Jan, belting one out!

Oh yes, I also play guitar...

On the road again...drove as far as I could that night and then slept in the back seat of my truck at a service centre - yes, indeedy!

There's so much to love about New Brunswick...the hills..

the streams...

the view around every curve...

the lupines were at their peak...

Dougie the Dodge handled beautifully - I was so proud!

I pushed myself and drove from 6am to 10pm...the sunset was brilliant...

and then I arrived at my destination - a sweet little house in rural New Brunswick - good friends, good food, awesome fur babies and a comfy bed. Sigh..... :)

To be continued...

Internet Woes

Thank you my dear friends for your most supportive and helpful comments on my "reaching out" post from the other day. Staying connected is of vital importance I am finding. I have already implemented some of your suggestions but as I am using my iPad and have none of my photos on it I'll be posting about those things in another post hopefully in the not too distant future.

I really really really want things to get back to normal internet wise. But this is PEI!!  Normal in P E I is when the internet company shows up and "tests the site"!  Ok, admittedly I didn't really understand what that meant, now I do.  This particular company uses towers to transmit the internet signal (please forgive my lack of technical jargon) and proceeded to go up to my roof line in a cherry picker.  No signal.

It seems that my forest was blocking the signal! In this day and age they can't work around the trees? Nope, cut 'em down! Cut them all down! Actually their solution was to hire some guys to install a 35-40' tower at the edge of my property that might then allow a signal to reach little ol' me. Ummmmm no thanks.

So then on my cell phone I chat with an agent of Bell only to find out that wifi and "regular" internet are two different things and I can't afford wifi! The lovely agent said to try Bell Aliant and see if they provide service in the boonies.  To make a long story shorter I discover there is a Bell Aliant dealer in my local Home Hardware store so off I go. Well, I purchased a one year monthly contract (nothing seasonal available from Bell) but do not yet have an appt with them to come and hook things up. Sigh.....I'll call  THEM on Monday and see if I can get things moving, however I'll be away Tues. to Friday so things don't look too hopeful.

By the time I get things hooked up it'll be time to go back to London and I'll be providing free internet to the spiders and chipmunks over the winter months. Sheesh!

Sooooooo, today's post is brought to you courtesy of the only Starbucks on the island in Charlottetown. I'm headed to my sisters place so came early and had a spree at Indigo books as I had $120 left in gift cards. First thing I nabbed was The Globe and Mail newspaper-finally, news of the outside world! I also bought 5 bargain books (already on sale but if you buy five you get an additional 50% off!) I know how to work the system and get the most for my money. I also got a huge wicker basket for my overflow of books (50% off), a couple of books not on sale....GASP!, a blue glass pitcher with matching glasses, a passport holder, a monogrammed  keychain ($2.00), and I forget what else. One of the bargain books was the latest Reader's Digest of home repairs! Stay tuned for some DIY projects:)

So now I must head off into the wild blue yonder. I've been more positive the last couple of days thanks largely to you good folks. Oh, and exciting news! I met another blogger-"I am Sam!!  Many of you know her from her blog. She's wonderful and I'm so glad we finally met. One of these days I'll be coming to visit all of you! That road trip ideas is still in the back of my mind:)

"I vant to be alone".....(read with German accent)....(as if you were Greta Garbo)...

Most, if not all, of you understand the need to be alone sometimes...not lonely, just peacefully, restfully, refreshingly, revitalizing (etc etc) alone. Sigh...

Not wanting to sound  ungrateful, I  just got home from yet another dinner. There was nothing wrong with it, it wasn't horrible, or loud, or long, in fact it was very nice. One of my students wanted to take my dep't head, Fil, and me out to dinner. It was lovely but I'm so very tired of being ON if you know what I mean. I can be sociable in small amounts, in spurts, but then I need to rest and re-energize. The last few weeks there have been too many dinners, lunches, breakfasts, parties, open houses, BBQs, drinks, cakes and I just want it to END!! Or at least have a breather - thankfully it's the weekend.

Here we are with our young date being photographed by the waitress while a sparkler sizzles away in our complimentary baklava. I think I have perfected my smile over the last few weeks to the point where I don't really have to think about it anymore. That sounds insincere but truly I just need to fully charge my batteries.

Am I being a whiner? I hope not. I gave tonight's dinner my best effort as it really was wonderful that Josh wanted to do this for us. We had great food, and good conversation - oh, and next to us a fellow proposed to his girlfriend (she said yes!!) plus there was a birthday celebrated at another table and then we were applauded for our retirement so it will be a memorable night for all.

When I'm feeling utterly exhausted I imagine sitting in my truck, the miles flying by, arriving at Crofters Lane, making a pot of coffee (after I figure out how to turn the water back on!), sitting on the front porch and looking out over the bay and letting my mind drift. IT WILL HAPPEN-JUST NOT QUITE YET!!

I must summon reserves of energy to power me through one more week. I can do it. Only 5 more days of school - on Thursday I get to work at home - yeehaw - and on Friday we have breakfast at school, mass, a meeting and then yet another luncheon and then FREEDOM (so really that's only 3 days of school!!) Oh, but let's not forget getting together with friends on Friday night - oh my. I should have been a cloistered nun! No, not really, I will enjoy the social activities as much as I can and then I will relish my alone time even more. Oh, and one more dinner with another set of parents next week, lol.

Truly - I'll be fasting and biking a hundred miles a day to get rid of all this blubber around my middle - I kid you not. I've never seen so much CAKE!!!

OK, gotta go. Going to take my glass of wine to bed with me, who cares if it isn't even 9pm yet? I need to quiet my mind, listen to an audio book (I have a new Louise Penny mystery and it's wonderful!) and ease on into a rejuvenating sleep.

Good night!

Oh, and Barb - when I get to Summerside in PEI I'm going to check into wifi - hopefully without having to be on a year long contract (since I'll just be there for 5 months) - the intent is to continue recording my journey - the trials and tribulations - la deuxieme partie!!

750!!!

Pardon me while I giggle........................................................................................ok, I think I've got a hold of myself now.....WELCOME TO POST #750!!!  I typed "750" into google images and this is one of many that popped up. So, imagine that's me about to roar off on my Ducati 750! And yes, that is how I would dress because there's no better feeling than peeling one's butt cheeks off of a leather seat! How do I know that you ask??  Never mind......now where was I?

Oh yes. This is a celebration of my 750th post on this particular blog. (This is my 3rd blog since 2007 the first being a joint effort with my brother and 2 friends called Four Mugs & a Crock!) I think I mentioned a few posts ago that I had reached post #750 but then I went to my post list and there were several drafts that I deleted and my post total went back to 744 or thereabouts. But now it's OFFICIAL!!

Oh how to mark this momentous occasion? Well so far I've marked it by drinking a kind of cold cup of coffee. Pardon me while I go nuke it.......there I'm back, not only with a hot cup of coffee but also with a bowl of pickled beets. Yes, I'm addicted to pickled beets. I admit it. You didn't know that about me? OK, well I could make a list of 750 things you don't know about me to celebrate 750 posts! Hmmmmmmmm where to start?

No, that's seems like too much work! How about 7.5 things you don't know about me, I think I can manage that!

1. This is hard!! Ok ok.....before I became a teacher I worked in various capacities for the Royal Bank of Canada which I detested so that motivated me to go back to school and earn a degree. Or two.
2. My daughter was conceived in Hawaii on New Year's Eve!
3. I am a Daughter of the United Empire Loyalists because an ancestor of mine was a "minute man" during the American Revolution!
4. My favorite genres of music are punk and country! Surprised?
5. I adore, love and revere single malt scotch :)
6. I am learning how to play the ukulele!
7. My aura is "green" - go check out sluggy's recent post about auras!
8. I know how it feels to peel my butt cheeks off a leather seat because.............

Sorry, I'm only sharing 7.5 things you don't know about me!!

Oh, and by the way I noticed that after Ontario Bloggers Day my followers list gained a few more readers!! Thank you one and all! 

Oh, and Kazi is now safely a million miles away in Australia!!!! Waaaaaaaaaaaahh! The time difference is 15 hours ahead of my time. She's asleep right now as she was severely jet lagged. Her suitcase got ripped up so she needs to replace it but other than that she arrived safe and sound. I have to say that thinking of her being SO FREAKING FAR AWAY is freaking me out a LOT but I'll have to live with it. 

Ontario Bloggers Day!

Did you know that tomorrow Friday, January 17, is Ontario Bloggers Day? Neither did I until I saw it mentioned in Eboo's blog and Jane's blog. If you are an Ontario Blogger and would like to join in the fun please follow this link: http://justnorthofwiarton.blogspot.ca/2014/01/catching-bug-through-phone.html and read through to the end for instructions on joining. Cindy who has the Just North of Wiarton and South of the Checkerboard blog is our gracious host for this "virtual event!"

A big shout out goes to Cindy for putting this together for a second year. I missed out the first time around - don't let it happen to YOU!

Dear Anon - You Really Made my DAY!!

Three days ago I received a comment from Anon......

"Well, I know my comment is not apropos of your post today ... however I thought it wouldn't hurt to leave it anyways! :)
I recently had some extra (forced) time off my feet which gave me extra blog reading time. While I was an occasional reader of your blog, and certainly missed your posts on the one or two occasions where you had taken a few months' break from writing, I can now say that with my extra time I found myself reading every post of your blog, all the way back to its inception!
Jane, I must say, (hopefully without sounding like a weirdo) that you seem like an awesome person that would be cool to know in real life. Your empathy towards your students despite all the obvious stressors of the job really shines through. Your down-to-earth, no pretentiousness is pretty cool too. (Here's a blast from your blog's past ... I loved the post where you proudly modeled the cardigan sweater than you found on the ground in your parking lot). A very important lesson I am learning from your blog is to "get out there, be open to things, and experience life". Whether this has always been your personality, or was something that was cultivated in recent years by your very own live-in life coach, it's something that leaps off the screen. 
Again, I know it's weird for me to just leave a comment like this out of the blue without it being triggered by a specific post, but I thought it may be a nice thing for you to hear that someone out in cyberspace really has enjoyed your writing."

First of all Anon,  just knowing you have taken the time to read all of my posts, some 727 entries, blows me away. And, it fills me with gratitude that you have let me know this. Right now, if no one ever reads another of my posts I will still be a very happy person.

One thing I know about myself for sure is that I don't have a pretentious bone in my body. (I hope that didn't sound pretentious lol!) I'm a simple girl who enjoys a simple life. Well, it's not so simple right now but that is the goal for when I retire.

The past few days have been really stressful so your uplifting comment couldn't have come at a better time. I had my final "teacher evaluation" yesterday - that's when a VP comes into my classroom and watches every single thing I do and say. Even though I am a seasoned veteran it was still very stressful and I barely slept the night before. About 2 hours later my vision started to get ripply which is a sign of an oncoming migraine so I went home and spent the next 18 hours in bed. Today I felt pretty good so off to work I went and my GIANT young man had a rough day injuring one of my staff. She went to urgent care and my young man went home. See? Not so simple at present.

But in a few more months (208 days:) I will be moving to a slower-paced part of the world where the biggest decision of the day will be sunny side up or sunny side down!

Thank you again Anon, for taking the time to let me know you've enjoyed my writing! That means SO much to me, it really does.

Hello? Is there anybody in there?

Hello? 

Is there anybody in there?

Just nod if you can hear me

is there anyone home?
(Roger Waters, David Gilmour)

Remember me? The gal on a 5 year plan to retirement? The gal who thought life wouldn't start til I retired? The gal who met a life changing man named Michael?

The gal who is now on the final leg of her working career? With only 259 days left til retirement? 

Yup, that gal! That's me, Jane! 

Now that I'm into my final year of teaching Part 37A, Section 271B has kicked in. Basically - get rid of as much sh-t as I can so I don't have to move it when I sell the condo...and fix up the condo so someone will actually want to buy it. Ah yes, the final lap!

We are now surrounded with storage bins and boxes which are rapidly filling up with the detritus of the past 20 years that we've lived in this condo. Much has found its way to garage sales over the past 3-4 years, some has gone to second hand stores, some is listed on Kijiji and the rest we trip over constantly!

Shelves and cabinets are being emptied. Flooring is being ripped up - yes, we haven't always lived with plywood floors!

There are currently 15 gallons of paint in the basement waiting upon us to fill in nail holes in the walls.

There he is - wave to Michael! He's had the wonderful job of ripping up the carpet. And right now he's driving with the truck full of patio stones to our former trailer where the current owners are going to put them to use.  We are going to replace the patio stones with flagstone to upgrade our patio area. He sure got a good workout yesterday loading them into the truck!

So we are living in chaos but oddly it feels just fine. Actually it feels great to finally reach the final stages of divesting ourselves of one life and preparing for another. 

We feel we are going on an adventure and the waiting is finally over! The idea of having an adventure before us as we head toward our 60's is exciting and scary and magical!

Kazi's room - obviously we haven't started in there yet!!

It would be nice to get everything done by Christmas so we could enjoy our two week break but I think that's being a bit too optimistic. 

When I look at these photos I see so much STUFF still to deal with.  But we've made a great start! We've ordered new carpet for the upstairs bedrooms, new ceramic tile for the kitchen and bathrooms and new bamboo hardwood for the dining and living areas. We'll have professionals install the carpet and we are going to do the ceramic and hardwood ourselves with the help of experienced family members.

I hope I can get in the habit of keeping you updated on our progress but I think it's better not to make any promises :) I've been on a blogging break now since May so who knows if I'll be able to keep it up now that I'm working AND redecorating. 

My feeling is that I don't really want this to be a personal finance blog - that was never my intent but that was the habit I sort of fell into. So, I've eliminated my financial goals (which really don't change anyways) and want to focus on our day to day adventures...or maybe there won't really be a focus at all!